An additional or extended field of view provided to the wearer of a face shield of a helmet will allow greater visual perception and control of the wearer's peripheral environment for safety and pleasure.
Presently, many varieties of commercial safety helmets, face shields, or other head worn coverings are available. All of the currently available types cause a reduction of peripheral vision when worn. Typical or conventional vehicles (i.e., motorcycles, snowmobiles, bicycles) that require the use of a helmet or face shield offer one or more attached mirrors to the vehicle itself, which only provide limited visual references. These vehicle-attached mirrors are quite limited and have major drawbacks. For example, the mirrors that are physically affixed to the vehicle require that the helmet wearer maintain a relatively straight forward-facing head and neck position to be able to utilize the reflected rear view images. These prior devices also force helmet wearers to turn their heads and/or alter their field of vision to view the surrounding area of the vehicle. As such, these prior devices force helmet wearers to frequently take their eyes off of the road to observe their surroundings, thereby undesirably increasing the risk of an accident.
Additionally, since the mirrors of the prior art maintain a fixed position upon the vehicle while it is operated, the visual images reflected in them are limited to the direct field of view behind the vehicle not necessarily the optimum field of view behind the helmet wearer's varying head position. This limited rear view image presentation is further reduced when the vehicle turns or traverses hills and valleys.
Further, fixed vehicle mirror positions return rear view images, which typically suffer from areas of omission, better known as blind spots. An additional drawback is that fixed vehicular mirrors are often on handlebars or parts of the vehicle that suffer the vibrational effects of traveling at high speeds. This can be further exaggerated by wind or other elemental influences against the backs of the mirror housings. These drawbacks can make the operation of a motorcycle, snowmobile, bicycle or other vehicle, while using an ordinary safety helmet or face shield, difficult, stressful, and unsafe.
Consequently, there is a need to provide the helmet wearer with an improved system to produce more useful, complete, and accurate rear and side view visual images. The Applicants' invention addresses these drawbacks and provides a method and an apparatus for providing a mirror system to the wearer of a safety helmet, which is capable of withstanding the rigors of use with a high-speed vehicle.